I have been approached by a bee farmer wanting to use my land for his hives. Now, besides the obvious benefit of pollinating my garden, I was wondering if anybody else out there rents their land to beekeepers and what other pros and cons there might be? I have hard that having bees wil reduce the fly population around my house. Thoughts anyone?

I know of no cons.. Even if you or a family member is allergic to a sting. The chance of being stung by a bee from a hive or even many hives on your property is far less than that of being stung by a wasp or hornet. I don't believe having bees around will reduce the fly population. Bees and flies do not interact, but I can't see any negative reason to having hives . If the bee farmer wishes to rent a hive site, I say go for it .

Yes there will definitely be free honey!! I couldn't really think ofany negatives either...but was wondering if it was a 'too good to be true' deal. And after just planting many types of fruit trees and vines last year.....

There are no real cons, so to speak. But, I would make sure the hives were placed in an area that doesn't see too much traffic. They can get agitated if it's an area that sees a lawnmower or other loud machinery too often, and when the temps get really high, they can get a bit cranky. laf

Here's a con that I think a lot of people are missing:aside from honey one thing a bee colony will produce is other bee coloniesif some migrant bees decide to take up roost under your deck or god forbid in your attic it could result in a hefty pest control bill.

But I would still welcome it. It's worth the risk to bring some pollinators to around and to support the threatened honey bee population.